Did you mean arab?
Number of ARAP and ACRS-eligible Afghan nationals currently in Pakistan and at risk of repatriation – Baroness Smith of Newnham.
Leo Docherty: ..., and will continue to do so. We have received assurances from the Government of Pakistan that Afghans being supported in Pakistan under the Afghans Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will remain safe in Pakistan while they await relocation to the UK. An MOD-led operation has relocated over 1,500 ARAP-eligible Afghans to the UK since...
Lord Sharpe of Epsom: ...that part of the reason we are discussing migration on such a regular basis is that this country has been generous, as we have discussed before. There are BNO passport holders, Ukrainian visas, and ARAP in Afghanistan, as my noble friend has alluded to. I think it is well worth restating that for the record.
Lord Browne of Ladyton: ...by His Majesty’s Government. He will be appalled to know that former and deserving members of CF 333, and the similarly created and funded ATF 444, were wrongly refused resettlement under the ARAP process. Abandoned, several have been killed and/or tortured. About 100 CF 333 and ATF 444 applicants were rejected and are in Pakistan, fearing imminent deportation and a death sentence. Will...
James Heappey: ...alongside UK Armed Forces. I should note again however, that not all members of the Afghan Armed Forces, including specific units such as AF 444 and CF 333, will automatically be eligible for ARAP. Each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis on its own merits. However, we are prioritising finding remaining eligible applicants and relocating them as quickly as we can.
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Afghan personnel who served in (a) Afghan Territorial Force 444 and (b) Commando Force 333 units are eligible for the ARAP scheme.
Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the number of ARAP applications from former members of the (a) Afghan Territorial Force 444 and (b) Commando Force 333 units that have been approved since the scheme opened.
Baroness Smith of Newnham: My Lords, the Minister suggested that people coming on boats are illegal by definition. If somebody from Afghanistan who has an ARAP number arrives in the UK that way because it is the only way they can come here, would the Home Office not give them the asylum to which they are entitled?
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that women in third countries who are (a) eligible for the (i) ACRS and (ii) ARAP schemes and (b) in the third trimester of pregnancy are flown to the UK before they are no longer fit to fly.
Johnny Mercer: In October this year, the Prime Minister asked me to coordinate departmental plans for relocating eligible Afghans and their families under both the ARAP and ACRS schemes. Departments retain responsibility for their specific policy areas.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom: ...being illegally present in Pakistan. We have engaged intensively with the Government of Pakistan to secure assurances that none of those eligible under Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will be subject to deportation while they await relocation to the UK.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom: ...awaiting resettlement. HMG has engaged intensively with the Government of Pakistan to secure assurances that none of those eligible under the UK’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will be subject to deportation. Visas continue to be issued to individuals eligible for the ACRS and ARAP schemes and flights are continuing to...
Lord Sharpe of Epsom: .... By the end of June 2023, approximately 9,800 people had been granted settled status under the ACRS, including over 4,600 children, and we provide local authorities with substantial funding. Since ARAP opened in April 2021, we have relocated over 12,200 people to the UK, including over 6,100 children. We know there is more to do, particularly with those currently still stuck in Pakistan,...
James Heappey: The longest outstanding ARAP application awaiting an eligibility decision was submitted on 8 April 2021. This case relates to an individual who will likely be ineligible as a consequence of misconduct. This case has been deprioritised because we know the individual is safely in a European third country.
James Heappey: Some 13,000 eligible persons and their families are now in the UK under the ARAP scheme. We are determined to deliver on our commitments, with many hundreds more arrivals in the UK planned before the end of the year.
Robert Jenrick: ...being illegally present in Pakistan. We have engaged intensively with the Government of Pakistan to secure assurances that none of those eligible under Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will be subject to deportation while they await relocation to the UK.
James Heappey: ...Affairs stated in the House on November 8, the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) plan is to relocate approximately 2,800 Afghans eligible under the Afghan Relocation and Resettlement Policy scheme (ARAP) to the UK by the end of December. Of these, 662 have already safely been relocated to the UK. The MOD oversees ARAP relocations from Pakistan to the UK, working in partnership with other...
James Heappey: ARAP eligibility decisions are made in accordance with our published ARAP policy, which is set out in the Immigration Rules. Checks and balances are in place to mitigate the risk of any errors. Across more than 95,000 unique ARAP applications and many more duplications, a very small number of cases received eligibility decisions which have been incorrect and needed to be revoked.
Johnny Mercer: ...2023, in October this year the Prime Minister further tasked me with coordinating cross government support for departments responsible for relocating eligible Afghans and their families under the ARAP and ACRS schemes.
Baroness Smith of Newnham: ...that is still unresolved is our duty to those people who served with His Majesty’s Armed Forces and taught the English language in Afghanistan—those people to whom we made commitments under the ARAP and the ACRS. There are still thousands of people in Pakistan, many of whom think they will not make it before their visas run out, as well as people who have not yet got out of...
